RESS RELEASE (Rome, December 12/2013): Carolina will not take part in the Italian National Championships scheduled to take place in Merano from December 19-21. The Italian Champion from the "Fiamme Azzurre" is fighting with recurring physical problems after her Grand Prix assignments this fall which keep her from skating at this competition, even though the event was included in her season schedule. In consultation with the officials of the "Fiamme Azzure", Carolina has decided to withdraw from the competition in Merano while expressing her regrets on not being able to compete at such an important event organized in her home region: a decision that is certainly linked to the preparations for the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014. In spite of her physical condition, Carolina will be attending - alongside with other atheltes from the Fiamme Azzure - an event organized by the CONI on December 18 in Rome, introducing the Italian Oympic team. During her stay in Rome, Carolina intends to undergo the necessary examinations to assert her current physical state.

"Plushenko — the 2006 Olympic champion and twice Olympic silver medallist — has already had surgery on his back "but a pin that was in there snapped off," his agent Ari Zakarian said. "So you can see he was not faking." "

That's shocking. I mean, not just the trouble she has but the fact that bodies of all top class figure skaters are like this or will be like this. One thing is to hear remotely about skaters who suffer from back pain or have screws in their spine but to read the actual analysis of what the profession does to the body is shocking. It feels like FS should be kicked out of OG program not because of scandals or something but simply because it cripples people. Makes me wish to retire from discussing figure skating just like the author of this translation did.